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Graupner Bugsier
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About this boat
I bought this boat on Ebay a few years ago. She was in a fairly poor state but I did her up a bit, anglicising her in the process. I left the geared 540 in her which is still a bit noisy and fierce (the boat practically planes on full speed). I might change that for a low noise 540 if I can get the old one out without ripping out her bottom! The radio glitches like mad so I need to get to the bottom of that - I suspect it's the geared motor which needs suppressing. She'll be worth persisting with as she looks a treat in the sunshine.
July 2020- replaced motor with low noise 500 straight drive, replaced steering servo. Runs quietly and efficiently now.
July 2020- replaced motor with low noise 500 straight drive, replaced steering servo. Runs quietly and efficiently now.
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They happen every few seconds as interruptions to the motor and I use the 0,1 micro farad ones used for de-coupling the brushes to get rid of them. You can use the prop shaft as an 'earth' in a plastic hull.
I must get back to building my Bugsier 3 it has been years since i started.
Roy
Stay safe and happy building all.
Ian
Wow! That's pretty extreme Ian!
Were the brushes and/or commutator perhaps k-nackered?
Always try to keep signal and antenna wires as far away as possible from power leads.
BTW: Most 2.4Gig RXs come with two antenna wires sticking out.
I've noticed that the installation instructions often just say 'arrange the two antennae at 90° to each other'. That's only half the story 😉
One should be vertical and the other horizontal to match the two antennae in the TX.
A vertical 'rubber duck' and a horizontal wire in the handle of the TX.
(May not apply to the cheapo trigger and wheel handsets favoured by car racers and crawlers, but then they don't need the range that we do.)
Known as Polarisation Diversity to radio engineers. (Guess what I was for 40+ years😁)
The RX then selects and uses the best (strongest) of the two received signals.
Small tip bye the bye: for maximum signal strength at the RX, and hence best range, don't point the rubber duck antenna straight at the model. Hold it vertically as the max signal is radiated horizontally from the middle of the antenna👍
The horizontal antenna in the handle works in either position cos it remains horizontal😊
Happy boating folks.
Cheers, Doug 😎
Not for the first time I'm afraid Joe!🤔
It's true that sparks from a brushed motor radiate most power in the LF/HF bands. 27Megs sets are even worse affected than 40Megs. And that the power density drops off rapidly from the VHF band upwards, so doesn't affect 2.4Gig RXs. Which has created the myth of 'You don't need suppression with 2.4GHz' ☹️
What these guys also forget is that there are two kinds of Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) from brushed motors and the like. Radiated and conducted.
It's the radiated (RFI) that directly affects other folks and their models, but the conducted, along signal and power cables can affect their own model.
Typical mistake is running ESC and motor power leads alongside servo / ESC signal leads or even close to the antenna. In a worst case these leads (if they are unluckily roughly the right length, close to a harmonic or sub-harmonic wavelength) may also form an antenna and thus radiate to other nearby models☹️
Capacitors on the motor and ferrite rings on the servo/ESC cables helps to suppress this.
(Soap box now packed away for the night😁)
Cheers, Doug 😎
But certainly a useful point to remember.
Very good of you to point this out. 👍👍
Joe
YES YOU DO!! (BOTH IANS!)
Unless you are totally alone on the pond/lake.
There are still a number of us who still use 40MHz.
1. Cos the sets we have were not cheap! and they still work.
2. Cos some of us run submarines, for which 2.4Gig is worse than useless.
If you run an unsuppressed brushed motor near someone with a 40Meg setup and you cause a disaster then I just hope your insurance premiums are up to date.
Maybe also your health insurance, depending on how many hours/years work and cash the claimant/injured party has put into his model.
It's true that with 2.4Gig it's highly unlikely that an unsuppressed brushed motor will disturb your own model, but please remember you are not alone in the world!
Doug, Disgruntled 'pig boat' driver.
Ian
Thanks for the interest.
Ian
Check to see if aerials are above the waterline as 2.4Ghz don't like being under the water line. Signal can't penetrate water. 40Mhz no Problem
Good Luck!